John's Witness

John’s Witness
As I write this Christmas is but a few days away. The gospels of Luke and Matthew tell of the birth of Jesus from two different angles. Luke a gentile (non-Jew), tells the story from Mary’s perspective. Matthew tells the story from a Jewish perspective using a genealogy to link Jesus with King David and showing Jewish readers how Jesus fulfills prophecy.
The Gospel of John however makes a definite statement in the first Chapter as to who Jesus is. John states,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” John 1:1-4,14.
John and indeed all believers in Christ Jesus truly believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. That God actually entered into the world He created in order to point mankind to Himself.
Like everything concerning Jesus this seems to be an incredible belief. Yet it is what Christians believe and ask the world to believe.
John even records this conversation between Martha and Jesus,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world,” John 11:25,26,27.
  This is what Christians ask the world to believe.
Christians believe that God understood that man could not live a life good enough to stand before him that is why He in the form of Jesus reached down to mankind. The apostle Paul telling us,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
Christians believe we cannot work our way to heaven. We get into heaven by the grace of God that comes through belief in Christ Jesus.
So my question to you the reader is do you believe this?
Please think about it. 

True or False

True or False
Matthew’s gospel records this incident about the conception of Jesus. Matthew records,
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Matthew 1:18-25.
For anyone reading this portion of the New Testament you can only come to one of two conclusions. Either it is false which means the life of Jesus and all he claims to be, mean nothing. OR you can conclude that what Matthew records is true and Jesus will and does indeed save people from their sins. There is no middle ground.
Jesus certainly believed himself to be the Son of God. The Saviour of mankind he is recorded as saying about himself,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”John 14:6.
C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity makes I think a good point when he states,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
As I write this Christmas is close at hand. A time when believers in Christ Jesus celebrate His birth and all that He has done for them.
I believe it is also a opportunity to tell others who we believe Jesus to be and to challenge non-believers to read the New Testament and see for themselves just who Jesus is.
Thus I would challenge Christians to respectively present their belief in Jesus to those around them.
     At the same time if you are not a believer in Christ I would ask that you read the New Testament and see for yourself who the writers believed Jesus to be and why.
Please think about it.

About Jesus

About Jesus
Luke’s Gospel records the parents of Jesus, Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple to be dedicated to the Lord as required by the law.
There Simeon a man who had been told by God he would not see death until he has seen the Messiah’s coming, sees the infant Jesus and realizes Jesus is the Messiah. Luke records Simeon as saying,
“For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 30-32
Luke then notes,
“Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:34,35.
At the time Mary and Joseph I am sure could not imagine what lay ahead for Jesus. Simeon predicted several things here.
He said Jesus would be a revelation to the Gentiles. Gentiles, non-Jews would have a part in God’s salvation in the blessing of God. Simeon noted that Jesus would glorify Israel.
Then he continues on to say,
“this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”
Jesus in his day, and even today is a controversial person. In his lifetime the religious leaders spoke against him. The very people that should have known he was the Messiah rejected him.
They would not even acknowledge at times the miraculous things he did were of God. They seen him as a political threat rather than the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind.
I believe how one views Jesus will determine where they will spend eternity. Anyone who hears about Jesus must decide for themselves who he truly is.
The writers of the New Testament quote Jesus as saying several very important things about himself.
1/“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18. 
2/ “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”John 14:6.
3/ “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30.
All very controversial statements in their day and I would argue equally controversial in our day.
Still Christians believe those statements and what the apostle Paul wrote about Jesus. Writing to believers in Christ he states,
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11.
Note here that Paul while telling believers in Christ to be humble and obedient to God he makes a very definite statement about Jesus.
Paul states,
“God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This is what Christians believe. We believe that Jesus while offering salvation and eternal life to the world. To all who would believe in Him. Will also one day Judge the world.
All who hear about Jesus must make their decision as to who Jesus is in this life. That decision will I believe determine our eternal resting place.
Please think about it

A Witness

A Witness
Luke’s gospel records that Jesus’ parents in accordance with Jewish law brought Jesus to the temple when he was eight days old and what happened. Luke states,
“On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. 
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” ),  and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,  
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:21-32.
Here we see another confirmation as to who Jesus is as recorded by Luke.
Prior to this Luke tells of the annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary of her pregnancy by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:28-38.
We have Elizabeth recorded as saying,
“In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Luke 1:42. Elizabeth confirming that the child Mary is carrying is the Messiah, Luke 1:39-45
We have Mary’s belief in what has happened expressed in praise to God in Luke 1:46-56.
Luke goes on to tell of the visitation of the Angels to the shepherds announcing to them the birth of Jesus, their subsequent visit to Mary, Joseph and Jesus, and their telling those around them about what had happened.
Now Luke here in Luke 2:21-32 we have an additional confirmation with the witness of
Simeon who according to Luke,
“Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2: 28-32.
As to the reliability of Luke the website Sacred Spaces notes several scholars saying Luke is a trustworthy historian. The website states,
“Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trusworthy…[he] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." (Sir William Ramsay, archaeologist)
“Luke is a consummate historian, to be ranked in his own right with the great writers of the Greeks.” (E.M. Blaiklock, Professor of Classics at Auckland University)
“In all, Luke names thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities and nine islands without a [factual or historical] error.” (Dr. Norman L. Geisler).
That being said it comes down to you the reader.
As I write this Christmas is just a few days away. For Christians around the world this is one of the most momentous days in history. The day God entered the world he created in the form of Jesus.
Luke while by many accounts is an excellent historian he is also an evangelist. His purpose in writing his Gospel and the book of Acts is to present the Salvation message of Jesus Christ to the world.
A message that you the reader must decide is either true or false. The choice is up to you.
Please take some time to read at least the whole gospel of Luke and decide for yourself if you believe him or not.
Please think about it. 

A Visitation

A Visitation
Luke’s gospel records that when Jesus was born angels appeared to shepherds announcing his birth. Luke states,
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:8-20.
I am a believer in Christ Jesus. I admit I have a bias. I believe the Bible. I believe what the New Testament says about Jesus. Even the miraculous. I believe if the miraculous happenings described in the Bible were not true the writers would not have included them.
That being said it is up to you the reader to make up your own mind regarding what is said in the Bible.
Here in the above quote from Luke’s gospel we are told about shepherds that were visited by angels announcing the birth of Jesus. That they went to see him for themselves and finding what the angels had said was true the told others about it.
Today in the twenty-first century we may not be able to go and see Jesus in the flesh but those of us who believe in him through faith are called on by God to tell the world about Him.
We are called on to glorify and praise God for the saving grace Jesus offers.
Luke states,
“When they (the shepherds) had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
The same is true today. Believers in Christ throughout the world tell those around them about Jesus all the time. And as with the testimony of the shepherds people marvel at what is told to them.
That’s not to say people always believe the testimony of Christians regarding Jesus.
God has given each person a freewill. They have the right to choose what they believe and what they do not believe.
That freewill extends to whether or not they believe Jesus is all the Bible claims he is, the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind, God incarnate. God will not impose His will on the individual.
I as a believer in Christ Jesus truly believe what the Bible says about Jesus. It however in the twenty-first century comes down to faith and the writer of Hebrews tells us,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.”  

                                                     Hebrews 11:1

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe 

that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                                           Hebrews 11:6  

Please think about it.

An Unlikely PLace

An Unlikely Place
Luke’s gospel records this about the birth of Jesus.
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  
And everyone went to his own town to register. 
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7.
Bethlehem at the time a very small backwater village in a backwater country of the mighty Roman empire. An unlikely place for the Messiah to be born. Certainly if one thinks of a Messiah a Saviour, a Redeemer, of a people being born, such a tiny village would not at least to man’s way of thinking be the ideal spot.
I’m certain to the Jewish people of the day, who were under the Roman boot were probably looking for a conquering Messiah, like Alexander the Great or Napoleon. Which Jesus was most certainly not.
Jesus was a suffering Messiah who would die for the sins of mankind. To offer life everlasting with God for those who would believe in him.
The apostle Paul wrote of Jesus,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
          The apostle John wrote
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.  
Jesus speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
Jesus would go on to conquer the hearts and minds of billions of people. More people today worship and serve Jesus than were ever in all the lands Rome had conquered. And how did He do it? Through Love.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the late Emperor of France said of Jesus,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.” Napoleon Bonaparte.
Please think about it.

Praise

Praise
As I write this Christmas is just a week or so away. Most scholars agree that December twenty-fifth was not the actual birth day of Jesus. That however does not matter. What matters is that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The most momentous day in history.
The day when God chose to enter His creation in order to point mankind to the eternal life He offers so freely to those who would believe in Him.
Luke’s gospel records Mary the mother of Jesus as praising God saying,
“And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke1:46-50.
Think of this from Mary’s perspective. While Mary was as they say very human, she must have had deep faith in God for Him to trust her to care and bring up Jesus in the ways of God.
   Of all the women in Israel she was chosen. An incredible blessing for her. A tribute to her faith in God.
I think it must have taken sometime for her to understand the ramifications of the situation.
Even after her visit to her cousin Elizabeth she could not possible understand what the future for the child she would give birth to would be like.
Mary however it seemed lived in the moment. She praised God for what was happening to her at that moment. She was to give birth to the Messiah. And she praised God for the honour. She called out,
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”
As believers in Christ Jesus with Christmas approaching we should be glorifying God.
The Psalmist wrote,

“Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary;

 praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; 

praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 

praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing, 

praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, 

praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD. 

                                                                  Psalm 150.

If you are a believer in Christ Jesus, why not take sometime right now to praise the Lord.
Please think about it.

Elizabeth bears witness

Elizabeth bears witness
Luke’s Gospel records Mary as going to her cousin Elizabeth’s home shortly after the annunciation by the angel Gabriel that she would bare Jesus.
Elizabeth was also pregnant with John the Baptist although unlike Mary Elizabeth’s pregnancy came by natural means.
Luke records,
“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.  
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  
In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” 
Luke 1:39-45
Here is another remarkable event noted by Luke. Elizabeth realized Mary was carrying the Saviour of mankind she notes,
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  
In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Luke 1:41-43
My argument for non-believers in Christ Jesus has always been why would someone like Luke, who said he wanted to make an accurate account of the life of Jesus included this event if it wasn’t true. To do such a thing would be to harm the fledgling Christian movement.
I believe sometimes you simply have to accept by faith that these things actually happened. Which is what God wants. The writer of Hebrews stating,

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                             Hebrews 11:6.

Faith defined as,  

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.”  

                                               Hebrews 11:1.

Please think about it.

Who is Jesus, "The Enunciation"

Who is Jesus
The Enunciation
As I write this Christmas is about two weeks away. One of the holiest days on the Christian calendar. A time when Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of their Lord and Saviour.
The question however for non-Christians is just who is Jesus. Perhaps one of the best accounts as to who Jesus is comes from the Gospel of Luke.
The gospel of Luke opens with,
“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.  
Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,  so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Luke 1:1-4.
Luke is believed to be a well educated gentile believer, writing to another gentile believer we only know as Theophilus.
He states,
“I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus” Luke 1:3.
He makes it clear that he spoke to eyewitnesses of the events. Thus the way I see it when we read the gospel of Luke we can either believe him or don’t believe him. We either believe the witnesses Luke talked with or we do not. The choice is up to the reader.
Luke’s first mention of Jesus come in Luke 1: 26-38, where Luke records,
“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” 
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  
For nothing is impossible with God.” 
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:26-38.
What Luke records here is quite remarkable if you think about it. While he is writing to believers. He is also presenting the story of Jesus to the world at large.
Luke does not hid the miraculous visitation of the angel Gabriel to Mary. He makes it clear that Mary is a Virgin. He does not hide what was obviously told to him by Mary. The angel Gabriel telling her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35.
Luke lays everything out for his readers. Luke truly believed what he wrote. That Jesus was born of a virgin, that the child she bore was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was called the Son of God.
Luke asks all who reads his gospel be they in the first century or in the twenty-first century to believe it. He leaves no room for any middle ground.
Question, who do you believe Jesus is?
Please think about it.

Incredible but True

Incredible but True
John’s gospel records this account of the resurrection of Jesus.
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.  
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.  
Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  
He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.  
Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.  
Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”  
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 
“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.” John 20:1-18.
Death could not hold Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead. This is something all Christians believe. As incredible as it may seem to non-believers, Christians truly believe that Jesus rose from the dead. That he walked on the earth was seen and interacted with numerous people before ascending to heaven. This is a corner stone of Christian belief.
The Apostles Creed while not written by and apostle of Jesus presents the other foundation beliefs that all Christians believe it states,
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
The choice to believe in these things is entirely up to you the individual. When God created mankind he gave each individual a free will to do and believe as they wished.
What I would ask you the reader is to consider what believers in Christ believe. Read the New Testament and decide for yourself. For as C. S. Lewis said,
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." C. S. Lewis.
Please think about it.

The Trial of Jesus

The trial of Jesus
John’s gospel records this about the trial of Jesus before the Roman governor Pilate. John notes,
“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.  
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. 
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”  
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” 
The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” 
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.  
“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).  
It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.” John 19:1-16.
Pilate had found Jesus not guilty of braking any Roman law that would deserve the death penalty. To placate the religious leaders and the crowd that day however he had Jesus flogged. Still however they were not satisfied. They demanded his death.
Pilate possibly fearing a riot played politics and gave Jesus to them to crucify. But note the conversation between Jesus and Pilot here. John records,
“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 
Jesus was telling Pilate that the power he, Pilate, had came from God. Not only that he pointed out that those, meaning the religious leaders, had the greater sin because they should have recognized the Messiah.
John notes that upon hearing that Pilate tried to release Jesus, but the crowds whipped up by the religious leaders who feared Jesus at least in a political sense yelled “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
Finally Pilate yielded to the crowd and Jesus was put to death.
The choice Pilate, the religious leaders and the crowd had that day is the same choice we in the twenty-first century face. Who is Jesus?
True believers in Christ Jesus believe him to be the Son of God, The Saviour of Mankind. God incarnate who was and is The Creator of the world.
John’s gospel records,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”John 1:1-4,14
  John records Jesus speaking of himself saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18.
Thus the choice is up to you the reader. Who do you think Jesus is?
Please think about it.

A Prayer for Believers

A Prayer for Believers
The apostle John in his gospel records Jesus as praying for believers who would believe because of the work of the apostles. That includes believers here in the twenty-first century. John records,
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  
I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:20-26
Jesus prays for the unity of believers so that those around them in the world will believe that God has indeed sent them. He prays,
“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23 
Earlier in his gospel John records Jesus as saying,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34,35. 
Love, unity of spirit and doctrine show the world the reality of Christ Jesus to the world.
Jesus goes on to pray,
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” John 17:23.
It is the desire of Jesus that believers see His glory a glory that was His before the creation of the world.
This should be the desire for all believers in Jesus. They should desire that all who believe in Jesus because of their witness see the glory of Christ.
Jesus concludes,
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:25,26.
The world does not know Jesus. Some say he was just a man, or a good teacher. Some even deny his existence.
True believer in Christ Jesus however know the truth about Jesus, that He is the Son of God, God incarnate, the Saviour of mankind.
This is the message all believers in Jesus are taking to the world. It is a belief however that takes an act of faith. The writer of Hebrews telling us,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Faith defined as,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for

 and certain of what we do not see.”  

                                                       Hebrews 11:1.

Please think about it.